WTF is going on?? - MGMAT #1 620 to GmatPrep #1 530 (3 days)

Question

Last week I finished reading through MGMAT Foundations of Math/Verbal and used this week to establish a baseline score. I have never done a CAT exam before, and have only sat a single standardised exam, hence I decided to take a MGMAT CAT to get a feeling of how a GMAT exam functions.

On Monday I sat a MGMAT CAT scoring a 620 (Q40 V35) which I was very happy with and therefore was feeling confident sitting the first official practice test the day after Christmas, but to my surprise I only managed to score a 530 (Q32 V32) almost a 100 point decrease from MGMAT #1!. I sat both exams at 0800, I attempted all sections under replicated exam conditions, and the orders were V->Q->IR->AWA.

WTF is wrong with me?? I constantly read posts/feedback describing how MGMAT is harder than GmapPrep, whereas here I am with an 8 point decrease on Quant. I'm currently in my final year of undergraduate studying a dual degree of engineering and business management with a GPA of 4.0/4.0. The three core engineering math subjects I have taken thus far I achieved 95%, 99% and 98% respectively but it seems I am a potato when attempting Quant. Now, I know that 'Quant' in the GMAT stands for Quantitative Reasoning and doesn't just require someone to regurgitate mathematical formulas, but I would have thought that I could have done better than 32nd percentile!

The only issue I faced while sitting GmatPrep #1 was that the loading screen would take 30 seconds to 1 minute to change to the next question on a number of occasions. Although this happened towards the end of each section, I would estimate I lost about 3-4 minutes on both Quant and Verbal.

The GmatPrep score is very disheartening. Although I have a long time till I will sit the exam (~July 2020 or December 2020), I feel defeated and I will never reach my goal of 750. With a baseline score of 620 I thought that achieving this goal was possible, but now seeing a 530 appear on the official practice exam really makes me doubt my ability.

bb · Answer

Hi there. Merry Christmas, though seems you have moved past that now.

1. I would recommend that you do not stretch out your prep more than 3 months (6 at the most most length)
2. Variations happen. Sorry about your GMAT Prep. Not sure what happened there with the score but you can consider it perhaps somewhere in between what you got on the MGMAT and GMAT Prep. That's the best I can think of but I feel it is too early for you to start taking the CAT's if you are not taking the test for a while. It just seems odd and wasteful. Imagine you were training for boxing and you mastered your left jab - that's it, just left jab. Would you really go out a fight someone after just learning the left jab or left jab and right hook? I would suggest that before you get beat up again, consider other ways of measuring your progress than wasting a test.

MBAaustralia · Answer

Cheers bb, Merry Christmas to you too!

As I'm about to begin my final year of university with the intention of applying for deffered programs (~April 2021 deadline), I feel that the most appropriate time to sit the exam would be when I'm not at university, so either July or November/December/January.

I am cautious about using my CATs but I did want to establish a rough baseline score with very little previous study. 620 on MGMAT made me feel great and I was expecting to get the same if not better on the official practise test. Well that didn't occur but **** happens though and life moves on! I'm frustrated although not stressed, I've made a promise to myself that I will break the 700 barrier and I won't accept anything less.

bb  I do need time to prep but I agree that 6-12 months could be too much but I don't want my brain to go soft. Currently I've got MGMAT All the GMAT, OG20 + Verbal/Quant Review, Kaplan 800, and all Gmatclub free resources. However, I have not even opened any of these books yet. From your vast experience, what is a good approach to attacking the GMAT over a 6 month period? I had planned to sit GMATPrep #2 in February once I go through the MGMAT All the GMAT books, but should I from your advice above?

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Thanks for providing the background. Would you be going into a masters program right after undergrad (or whatever educational institution you are in at the moment) or would you be taking the test for the future?

MBAaustralia · Answer

I'm looking at deferred programs so I would be applying towards the April 2021 deadlines since I will be graduating in December 2020. Pretty much I will have 3-4 shots at the exam: July, December, January, and February. I'd assume my profile as an undergrad is quite competitive, so GMAT + Essays are going to be deal breakers. I think I should be targeting a July test date so I have December/January as fall back otherwise as you pointed to I could get burnt out trying to Prep for 12 months. On the other hand, luckily for me I am doing a reduced number of subjects in my final year so I can treat my GMAT Prep as an additional subject. A few weeks ago I did post a preliminary Prep plan on reddit, but this was working towards a December test date. This has changed already. https://www.reddit.com/r/GMAT/comments/ ... urce=share Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Not only you would get burnt out but you would forget a lot of things. You know why college courses have semesters/trimesters?

If you are planning to take the test in July, I would work on brushing your fundamentals now - foundations of GMAT math as you have done (though it seems you should be in a good shape as a college student). I guess you can start preparing now and use the time efficiently and worst case you will just take the test early. Just remember to time yourself with every question and on all practice questions. Save the ones you get wrong and make sure go through them. Don't move past a topic until you feel comfortable with it. Write notes if you have to. Memorize formulas, shortcuts, etc if you can't figure them out. Review regularly so you don't forget. Good Luck! Good luck

MBAaustralia · Answer

bb dcummins

From my two 'cold' tests I took 3 days apart (620 (Q40 V35) on MGMAT #1 and 530 (Q32 V32) on GMATPrep #1), I have taken the time to review the questions and compare the two exams to determine which areas are my weaknesses but also my strengths. The data table (with Google Drive link) is below,

https://imgur.com/a/fPsadti

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

NB: Take the GMATPrep difficulty levels with a grain of salt. I allocated the difficulty of each equation in the table to the tag it received on gmatclub. I know this is not very accurate, but I cannot find the difficulty levels on my GMATPrep test review.

Analysing the table the obvious weakness that stands out is SC. However, there are some abnormalities, such as how in some categories I have a higher or equal correct percentage of harder questions to easier sections. Not shown in the table, I found that close to 50% of all Verbal questions I answered incorrectly, the second last choice I eliminated was the correct answer. So it seems I am on the edge of the fence when it comes to grasping some concepts.

I understand that although MGMAT and GMATPrep are trying to test students on the same content, the two are quite different (with GMATPrep being the one everyone should refer to). Other than SC being the stand-out weakness across both tests, every other section is all over the place. Can anyone make sense of my data and point me in the right direction to begin my GMAT preparation?

Also, as I mentioned in the previous post I did experience some issues in the GMATPrep test where the loading screen after certain questions (RC and DS with fractions) would take ~30s to change to the next question while the timer continued to count down resulting in 3-4 minutes lost for both Quant and Verbal. Interestingly, from comparing between my notes and questions, I found that there were a number of easy questions (300-600 level) that I had gotten wrong only 1-2 questions after the issue. Although I can't view a question time, I remember always rushing after the long loading screens to try and make up the time lost. Makes me wonder how different my score would be if I answered only half of those correctly.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Although I mentioned this to you previously, I’ll say it again here:

Given that you’ve only read through a few foundational books, 530 is not a bad start! Also, you said yourself that you have PLENTY of time before you need to take the GMAT. So, keep up the positive vibes and dive into your prep. Certainly, if you need any further advice, feel free to reach out.

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WTF is going on?? - MGMAT #1 620 to GmatPrep #1 530 (3 days)

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